The Cabildo Abierto (open council) is a political participation device established by the 1991 Colombian Constitution with the purpose of extending the representative democracy limits through community participation on the local levels. This organization had its origin in medieval Spain. The Cabildo Abierto was transferred to America during the conquest and colonial periods, which allowed that local social groups to participate on the decisions that affected their daily life. This paper is a historical study about the Cabildo Abierto from its origin in the Iberian Peninsula to its applications in Nueva Granada as well as in the first part of the republican period.